10 million Portuguese citizens casted their vote on March 10th 2024 in a snap election organized by the Portuguese government just 2 years after the last legislative election. The election that took place in Portugal was a legislative election in which the people had the chance to vote for the political party and representatives to choose how they want to mold their country in the auspicious near future. The catalyzing factor of the implementation of the election was the resignation of Antonio Costa, the Prime Minister of the Portuguese Republic.
The Prime Minister Antonio Costa will remain as the incumbent elected official until a government is formed as a result of the 2024 election. António Luís Santos da Costa is originally a lawyer and a politician who has been the acting prime minister of Portugal since 26 November 2015. Costa holds a very profound relation with the politics of Portugal, having been chosen for a plethora of political positions throughout his career. He had the role of Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs in the interval between the years 1995 and 1997, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs from 1997 to 1999, Minister of Justice from 1999 to 2002, Minister of Internal Administration from 2005 to 2007 and Mayor of Lisbon from 2007 to 2015 in chronological order. Furthermore, he came to power as the Secretary-General of the Partido Socialista (Socialist Party) in 2014 and continued to pursue the position until the year 2024.
Following the recent election, commentators have stated that Portugal is left with the most fragmented parliament since the end of the dictatorship under António de Oliveira Salazar, the Prime Minister of Portugal, between the years 1932 and 1968. The center right political party coalition “Democratic Alliance”, consisting of the Social Democratic Party and (PSD) and CDS - People’s Party (CDD-PP), has won a narrow victory in the election, taking up the 29.5% of the 98.98% of the votes counted in the election. The party of the incumbent prime minister, Socialist Party, has won the 28.7% of the counted votes attributing it with the quality of being the second party. The result of the vote gives Luis Montenegro, the leader of the Democratic Alliance, to form a government. Although it is also a prominent shift between the governments, a more sensational result occurred after the elections. The far-right political party Chega has gotten the 18% of the votes in the election. Even though Montenegro has stated he would not work with Chega, the rise of the far-right in Portugal and in Europe constitutes a political environment laden with concern, doubts about the future of Europe and reactions from the marginalized communities of the country. Chega follows right wing populist and national conservative policies. The party also backs up controversial concepts such as life imprisonment and some members of the political party also have expressed support for the implementation of death penalty.
The right wing political parties in Europe have been experiencing an escalation in their rate of vote contemporarily. From Giorgia Meloni of Italy to the support for Geert Wilders in The Netherlands makes it conspicuous that European political approach is shifting towards the right wing and even the far-right. One reason for the this shift in the political spectrum can be the increase in the nationalist outlook of the citizens due to the refugee flow to Europe. Anyhow, the shift caused worries among the people of Europe, especially because of the ethnic, sexual and social minorities that dwell there. Similarly, the rise of the political right in Portugal raised numerous concerns. The leader of Chega, André Ventura, has previously suggested to create a “specific confinement plan for Roman communities” during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the other members of the parliament rejected the idea, he has stated that he was being treated as if he had suggested something like “Auschwitz or Soviet exterminations”. That year, he was fined for discriminating against the roman community on social media. He has also suggested the introduction of chemical castration for same-sex offenders, particularly pedophiles.
The recent political shift in Portugal seems to be following the general European direction. Will the new government be able to alter the issues of the citizens in the status quo? The world will find out very soon.
Works Cited
Chiappa, Claudia. “Chega: 5 Things to Know about Portugal’s Surging Far-Right Party.” POLITICO, POLITICO, 12 Mar. 2024,
Cotovio, Vasco, and Sophie Tanno. “Portugal’s Center-Right Coalition Claims Slim Election Win as Radical Right Surges.” CNN, Cable News Network, 11 Mar. 2024,
Paul Kirby in London & Alison Roberts in Lisbon. “Centre Right Wins Portuguese Election as Far Right Surges.” BBC News, BBC, 11 Mar. 2024.
Portugal.gov.pt. “Governo de Portugal.” Prime Minister - XXIII Government - Portuguese Republic, Accessed 15 Mar. 2024.